Chris Mannix’s NBA Notes: Inside the Knicks’ Plan to Attack James Harden

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James Harden gets humbled

Mike Brown didn’t bother hiding it. Addressing reporters after Tuesday’s come-from-behind 115–104 overtime win over Cleveland, the Knicks coach was quick to admit the strategy. “It’s no secret,” Brown said. “We were attacking Harden.”

No kidding. Down the stretch of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals, possession after possession, the Knicks attacked Harden. Jalen Brunson was the primary offender. There was nothing overly creative about it. New York set a simple screen above the three-point line and just let Brunson cook. Harden was the screener defender on 21 on-ball picks in the fourth quarter and overtime, per the All-NBA Podcast. The Knicks got Harden to switch into nine isolations during that stretch. When Harden got close, Brunson went by him. When he backed off, Brunson shot over him. In the fourth quarter, when the Knicks erased a 22-point deficit, Brunson scored 15 on 7-of-9 shooting.

Don’t expect that strategy to change much, either. Brown is deeply familiar with Harden. As an assistant coach in Golden State, Brown recounted how the Warriors used to track Harden’s dribbles. The more he dribbled, they reasoned, the more fatigued he would get. The Knicks don’t love being so isolation heavy (that’s Tom Thibodeau–style offense), but if the Cavs are going to leave Harden alone on an island with Brunson, that’s exactly how they will play.

Which means they can’t play that way. Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said he didn’t give any thought to benching Harden, who in addition to porous defense was 5 for 16 from the floor in Game 1. “He’s been one of our best defenders in these playoffs,” said Atkinson. “I trust him. Smart. Great hands. Didn’t think about that.” Atkinson insisted that Harden is a good isolation defender which is kinda, sorta true, in that Harden can be tough as an iso post defender. On the perimeter, he’s a turnstile.

In Game 2, Atkinson needs to send help. The ball needs to come out of Brunson’s hands when he is lined up with Harden. Or else it will wind up in the bucket.

The Mavericks parted ways with head coach Jason Kidd this week. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Masai Ujiri cans Jason Kidd

Count it as a mild surprise that Kidd was fired, er, “parted ways” with the Mavericks this week. Less than a year ago Kidd was a sought-after commodity (the Knicks had heavy interest in Kidd replacing Thibodeau), so much so that Dallas rewarded him with a second contract extension. Firing Kidd means the Mavs will eat $40 million over the next four seasons. That’s a lot of cash to pay off a coach you fought to retain.

The decision to fire Kidd was “very, very tough,” said Ujiri, Dallas’s new president of basketball operations. “What he’s done for this organization we truly respect,” Ujiri said. Ujiri denied that firing Kidd had anything to do with wiping away any remnants of the Luka Dončić trade. “That trade has played no part in like how I have thought about anything,” Ujiri said. “I’m in no position to criticize or blame.”

More likely, the decision to can Kidd was about eliminating a potential power struggle. As Sports Illustrated has reported, Kidd wanted the top front office job. He’s also influential with ownership, specifically team governor Patrick Dumont, and has the support of Cooper Flagg, Dallas’s franchise star, and Kyrie Irving, its All-Star point guard. By moving on from Kidd, Ujiri may believe he is excising a potential problem before it becomes one.

Tom Dundon’s Red Wedding

Another day, another Dundon story. The Trail Blazers owner did some housecleaning on Tuesday, axing around 75 staffers, sources with knowledge of the cuts tell SI. Most of the layoffs were on the business side, but virtually the entire team PR staff was fired, as was Casey Holdahl, the longtime digital reporter who had been with the team for nearly two decades. Affected employees were informed during a two-minute video call.

Yikes. Restructuring under new ownership isn’t unusual. The Minnesota Timberwolves experienced similar cuts when Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore took over for Glen Taylor. Still, couple the layoffs with some of Dundon’s well-publicized cost-cutting measures and the NBA has the potential for a huge problem. More stories will almost certainly come out, and while Dundon doesn’t appear affected by public shaming, commissioner Adam Silver can’t stand it. There could be some uncomfortable conversations in the months ahead.

More awards mess

The Thunder could not have been happy to see Victor Wembanyama sitting on his bench seething while watching Shai Gilgeous-Alexander accept the MVP award. As I wrote on Wednesday, Wembanyama used SGA’s moment to top off his fuel tank in a 41-point, 24-rebound in 49-minute masterpiece in San Antonio’s Game 1 win. Did it help Wemby? Maybe. Sure didn’t hurt.

Why did the NBA wait this long to announce MVP? Beats me, and probably a lot of other people. The league announced its finalists weeks ago. Could SGA receive the award before, say, Game 1 of the conference semifinals with the Lakers? Or Game 2? The league just announced that Coach of the Year will be revealed next Tuesday. Boston’s Joe Mazzulla and Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff are the front-runners. Neither are still coaching. These are regular-season awards. They should be revealed much closer to the end of the regular season.

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